1. Field of the Invention
The invention in general relates to vehicles and more particularly, to remote controlled vehicles used in potentially hostile environments and which includes both tracks and wheels.
2. Description of Related Art
Unmanned ground vehicles, remotely controlled by cable or an RF link, are utilized in a variety of potentially hazardous environments. These vehicles may be used in place of humans in life threatening situations such as explosive control, mine clearance, nuclear hazards and reconnaissance in a combat area, by way of example.
Relatively large as well as small such vehicles exist, some models being designed with wheels and some with tracks, an example of the latter being described and claimed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,932,831 and 5,022,812, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
In yet another model both wheels and tracks are utilized. In this design the track is slightly elevated off the ground thus allowing the wheels to be the main drive element with the track acting as an additional tractive force when required, as on highly uneven terrain. In addition, the combination of tracks and wheels provides for a vehicle in which vibrations are decreased when running, which has greater stability in rough terrain and on stairs, and which has increased vehicle speed compared to a track-only design.
In the event of a power failure or damage to a drive unit (generally one per side) of a vehicle of the dual wheel/track design, it would be desirable to disconnect the drive unit(s) so that the vehicle may be free-wheeling for easy towing However, in order to accomplish this disconnection, a time consuming operation, involving removal of a variety of fasteners, must be performed. The present invention obviates this time consuming operation.